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Uranium -- the raw material for nuclear power and nuclear weapons -- is having a moment in the spotlight.
Companies such as Energy Fuels, Inc. have played well-publicized roles in lobbying the Trump administration to reduce federal protection for public lands with uranium deposits. The Defense Department's Nuclear Posture Review calls for new weapons production to expand the US nuclear arsenal, which could spur new domestic uranium mining. And the Interior Department is advocating more domestic uranium production, along with other materials identified as " critical minerals ."
What would expanded uranium mining in the US mean at the local level? I have studied the legacies of past uranium mining and milling in Western states for over a decade. My book examines dilemmas faced by uranium communities caught between harmful legacies of previous mining booms and the potential promise of new ...

Despite the mass corporate media obsession with Donald Trump's reactionary, vulgar and insulting statements, grassroots activity is becoming more energized in the United States and around the globe. In We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now, Annelise Orleck records the movements for a more equitble and humane labor force, speaking with activists and giving grounds for hope. In a world of neoliberal dominance, advocating for fair and deserved worker justice is a challenging task. In this excerpt, Orleck makes the case that workers are rising up around the world to achieve this goal.
A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest for higher wages and a union on April 15, 2015, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Mark Dixon )
Despite the mass corporate media obsession with Donald Trump's reactionary, vulgar and insulting statements, grassroots activity is becoming more energized in the United States and around the globe. History Professor Annelise Orleck records the movements for a more equitble and humane labor ...

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The new US energy policy of the Trump era is, in some ways, the oldest energy policy on Earth. Every great power has sought to mobilize the energy resources at its command, whether those be slaves, wind-power, coal, or oil, to further its hegemonic ambitions. What makes the Trumpian variant -- the unfettered exploitation of America's fossil-fuel reserves -- unique lies only in the moment it's being applied and the likely devastation that will result, thanks not only to the 1950s-style polluting of America's air, waters, and urban environment, but to the devastating hand it will lend to a globally warming world.
Last month, if you listened to the chatter among elite power brokers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, you would have heard a lot of bragging about the immense progress being made in renewable energy. "My government has planned a major campaign," ...

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Dominion and Duke Energy got more bad news about their controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline project this month, with North Carolina regulators announcing they would not issue the necessary air quality permit for a planned compressor station in Northampton County by Dec. 15, as the utilities had hoped. The proposed 600-mile pipeline would carry fracked gas from West Virginia to North Carolina, with most of it used to generate electricity at gas-fired power plants.
On Dec. 4, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) -- headed by the Environmental Defense Fund's former Southeastern regional director Michael Regan -- asked for additional information about air pollution impacts, indefinitely extending the deadline for a response. This marks the fifth time that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's administration has asked the ACP developers for more ...

Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin discuss how the left can save the US from neoliberal excesses. (Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout )
In a time of deep political, social and economic uncertainty for everyone (except the ultra-rich), Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin provide some theoretical and practical guidance for the left. This Truthout interview is an effort to help reimagine a realistic social order in an age when the old order is dying but the new has yet to be born.
Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin discuss how the left can save the US from neoliberal excesses. (Image: Jared Rodriguez / Truthout )
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We live in an age of illegitimate neoliberal hegemony and soaring political uncertainty. The evidence is all around: citizen disillusionment over mainstream political parties and the traditional conservative-liberal divide, massive inequality, ...

Eryn Fitzgerald
Judith (Kekinusuqs) Sayers
These are exciting times in British Columbia for those interested in building sustainable, just and climate-friendly energy systems. The recent change in government could mean a shift away from a corporate agenda driven by the needs of a massively energy-intensive fracking and LNG industry towards one that prioritizes action on climate change, First Nations' self-determination and community-scale economic development. Indeed, First Nations-led renewable energy generation offers a promising path forward for each of these.
The momentum that First Nations have already built in this area, combined with developments in renewable energy technology, means they are well-positioned to be leaders in B.C.'s transition to a sustainable energy system.
We recently completed a province-wide survey of First Nations' involvement in the renewable energy sector, which turned up some provocative results. The survey was sent to all 203 First Nations in the province, and received a ...

(Photo: Bianca Pontes / EyeEm)
Expanding educational opportunities and building a green economy -- while shrinking both the military and the fossil fuel industry -- are the best routes to full employment, say world-renowned public intellectuals Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin. Also, greater financial regulation and more public development banks that prioritize social welfare over massive profits are crucial for a progressive agenda.
(Photo: Bianca Pontes / EyeEm)
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This is the first part of a wide-ranging interview with world-renowned public intellectuals Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin. The next installment will appear on October 24.
Not long after taking office, it became evident that Donald Trump had engaged in fraudulent populism during his campaign. His promise to "Make America Great Again" has been exposed as a lie, as the Trump administration has been busy extending US military power, ...

How is technology helping societies like China address environmental challenges produced by rapid economic development and urbanization? Energy and water are core ingredients for economic development and urbanization yet their nexus, supply and use must be managed carefully to produce sustainable environmental outcomes. The ability to understand these interactions and associated impacts though trusted information, monitoring, analytical insights and shared knowledge can aid in supporting sustainable environmental outcomes.